I`m Joan Rivers, And I`ll Be Your Server Tonight...

February 20, 1992|By SANDIE PICCIOCHI, Staff Writer

Rhonda Denton will dish up gossip instead of grits and Joan Rivers will sling hash instead of trash.

Denton, a graveyard shift server at a Denny`s restaurant in West Palm Beach, won the Joan Rivers Show`s ``Life Swap`` contest on Wednesday, giving her a chance to be host to the celebrity-gossip show and be pampered in New York. Rivers, in turn, gets a look at life in South Florida -- from behind a Denny`s name tag.

``Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame, but I get an hour,`` said Denton, 30. Her shot at TV stardom is scheduled to air on March 4. ``If you don`t go for what you want, it won`t happen.``

Joan ``Can We Talk?`` Rivers will work the midnight-to-morning shift Friday at Denny`s on Military Trail in West Palm Beach.

``I can`t wait to get there, because the chef`s surprise that evening is going to be me,`` Rivers said Wednesday through a spokeswoman.

After work, Rivers will go to Denton`s Loxahatchee home and cook breakfast for Denton`s husband, Daniel, and their two children, then walk the five miles Denton usually walks, and finally wind down with a nap.

Instead of serving her last Grand Slam breakfast at dawn, Denton in two weeks will find herself walking Spike, Rivers` 5-year-old terrier, in New York City`s exclusive Upper East Side. She will then head to the studio and deliver ``Gossip, gossip, gossip!`` as host of the Joan Rivers Show.

Rivers will show up at Denny`s in the company`s regulation uniform. Denton, on the other hand, will shop at Barney`s New York for a designer outfit to wear while host of the show and be primped by Mr. Kenneth, Rivers` hairstylist.

Denton, in New York on Wednesday for the live airing of the final round of the competition, headed straight back to Florida the same day -- with Rivers and crew right behind.

``I called home and told them to get the house ready and do it now!``

Her instructions: Take all the mess in the house, put it in trash bags and tote it to the attic.

Denton and thousands of other Rivers wannabes sent in videotapes showing the days of their lives and why they wanted to be Joan for a day.

Along with three other finalists, Denton appeared on the show and was judged on delivering a monologue, interview skills and the video presentation.

Denton said she would not have been able to make the video without the support of her friends, co-workers and family.

Co-worker and friend Kathy Caprio of Lake Worth was ``my main helper,`` Denton said. ``She followed me around with the camera. We worked on it all night at Denny`s ... and then it took us 3 1/2 hours to edit it.``

She also enlisted the help of longtime Denny`s patrons Frank and Kathy Pace, who had cameo roles in the video. The couple lent their video company`s services for the final edit.

``My stomach is just doing flip-flops,`` Kathy Pace said. ``I`m just so glad she won, and we had so much fun doing it.``

``When I sent the Joan Rivers Show the tape, my son Chad saw a falling star and made a wish,`` Denton said. ``When I got the call about being a finalist, he said, `See mom, wishes do come true.```